“Buck the trend” is an idiom that means to go against the norm or the current stand of the main population.
The verb “Buck” simply means to bend, buckle or move. The word “Trend” can be a noun or verb based on the context. For this situation, it takes the noun function, which means a style or pattern.
“Buck the trend” also means to develop in an unexpected or unforeseen way, especially in a way that contradicts recent history.
It is often seen as a powerful reversal signal, a common strategy by contrarian traders.
20 Alternatives to “Buck The Trend”
If you’re looking for the best alternative phrases instead of “buck the trend,” try these options:
- Defy the convention
- Be Exceptional
- Go against the grain
- Change the game
- Bend the trend
- Out of the ordinary
- Digression
- Dissimilitude
- Anomaly
- Deviate from the norm
- Out of line
- Go against the world
- Up against the rule
- Out of trend
- Change the status quo
- Bend the rule
- Against the law
- Challenge the culture
- Up against the practice
- Outside the law
Keep reading, as I’ll show you how you can use each of these phrases instead of “buck the trend.”
1. Defy the convention
You can replace “buck the trend” with “defy the convention.” Defy means someone or something trying to make you behave in a particular way you refuse to obey and act in your manner.
On the other hand, convention means a usual or acceptable way of acting, especially in a social situation.
So, defying the convention means a lack of following the usual way, acting in your way to ignore the normal process.
For Example:
- I defy the convention of her culture, which is why I rejected her proposal.
- The lecturer has to defy the convention of her project during the presentation.
- Dr. Stephen consistently defies the convention of the College with his lecture method.
- I had to defy the convention before getting to the vice president’s office.
- She was locked up to defy the convention of her right.
2. Be exceptional
Exceptional means to do things rarely, something uncommon or different from the trend, deviating from the norm, such as having above or below-average intelligence.
You can use it instead of saying, “Buck the trend.”
Look at these examples:
- John is always exceptional in his project presentation.
- The CEO has an outstanding interpersonal relationship with all his staff.
- His excellent style of writing made him win the award.
- Judges only grant marriage annulments in extraordinary circumstances.
- She possessed remarkable powers of concentration.
- She’s a woman of exceptional.
3. Go against the grain
Go against the grain simply means doing something unusual. You can interchange this with “buck the trend” since they both mean the same thing. But not for every context
These examples will guide you:
- Jackson went against the grain in today’s match.
- I went against the grain at the conference with my presentation on Thursday.
- Catherine is always loyal; she goes against the grain for her to become disloyal.
4. Change the game
You can say, “Change the game,” especially when you are talking about introducing a different thing from the usual way that is generally accepted.
Examples
- Roy is known for changing the game in all ramifications.
- I love to change the game at work, irrespective of my mood.
- Justin changed the game in solving the world problem.
- The Principal constantly changes the game with his presence in School.
- My company started ranking the board list in January, immediately after I changed the game.
5. Bend the trend
If you want to stick to the play of words, you can change “buck” to “bend” since they both mean the same thing.
So when you say “Bend the trend,” you imply that the person should change the direction from the prevailing style or go against what’s in vogue.
Examples”
- The President bends the trend in making some decisions as regards the Constitution.
- She bends the trend on social media.
- I do bend the trend during my high school days.
6. Out of the ordinary
It could be that the coffee differs from what others on the table have ordered. You can use “out of the ordinary” instead of “buck the trend” in such situations.
- What happened at the office today is out of the ordinary.
- Her scent is a bit out of the ordinary.
- Anything out of the ordinary made her nervous.
7. Digression
When people move away from the main subject, they stray. So it’s similar to moving away from what’s on trend.
In that sense, you can use “digression” instead of “buck the trend.”
For example:
- Walter’s fashion style is a digression from the current trend.
- To talk about money is a digression from the primary purpose of the meeting.
- They are always on the work site and report deviations from agreed procedures.
8. Dissimilitude
Dissmilitude is a point of difference or dissimilarity. You can use it to replace “buck the trend” when describing a state of being different.
These examples will guide you:
- The lifestyle of rural areas is dissimilitude to urban areas.
- The dissimilitude in their opinions led to a heated argument.
- The teachers and the students lie opposite; they act in the dissimilitude role.
- There is much dissimilitude between positions and ideality.
9. Anomaly
“Buck the trend” also means deviation from a rule or what is regarded as standard. So it takes the same meaning as “anomaly.”
Both expressions can work interchangeably.
For Example:
- This was an anomaly in American politics.
- What is the cause of this anomaly in your jurisdiction?
- The monster appeared in the sky thirty minutes ago; you must have missed it.
- The genetic abnormality caused the child to have an eye.
10. Deviate from the norm
If the situation involves not acting the usual or what’s expected, you can use “deviate from the norm” instead of “buck the trend.”
Norm is a word for the usual way things are done. But to deviate from that means to be unpredictable. It means the person bucked the way things are expected to be done.
For Example:
- People are not comfortable with sexual lives that deviate from the norm.
- We live in a society where people deviate from the norm almost daily.
- The author lost many fans when he decided to deviate from the norm (his writing style).
- Sometimes, you have to deviate from the norm to prove yourself right.
11. Out of line
People use “out of the line” when something is different from the planned, agreed, or expected way. So it is a fantastic alternative for “bucking the trend” in certain circumstances.
These examples will guide you:
- The cost of your food is way out of line with other restaurants.
- This set of cars is way out of line with the trend.
- Jerry’s ideas are out of line with reality.
- The top salary awards are entirely out of line with inflation.
12. Go against the trend
If you’re using “buck the trend” to express not agreeing with something, someone, or general principles or rules, then “go against the trend” is an ideal alternative.
See how it works in these Examples:
- I will ensure she does not go against the trend on our social media page.
- Billy might go against the trend with his outfits at my party.
- I would instead go against the trend than give up on it.
- Your affirmative actions seem to go against the trend.
- We are not allowed to go against the movement in my office.
13. Up against the rule
One idea of bucking the trend is violating or breaching a system of order. For this situation, you can replace “up against the rule” with “buck the trend.”
You can use it when someone refuses to cooperate with the orderly arrangement of a process or proceeding.
Look at how it’s used in these examples:
- What! Is he up against the rule?
- You must cooperate with the interview or be up against the law.
- In soccer, touching the ball with your hand means you are against the law
- Despite being up against the law, you kept arguing for a long time.
14. Out of trend
“Buck the trend” and “out of trend” are great substitutes. Both expressions mean to deviate from something new, to act or change from a usual way.
I recommend using this when you want to talk about something out of vogue or has gone extinct.
For Example:
- Your sports car is beautiful, but it’s out of trend.
- I must get myself a Gucci sneaker before it’s out of trend.
- I could tell you are out of trend with what you bought.
- You look too young to get something out of trend at your age.
- The smartphone I repurchased three years is out of trend.
15. Change the status quo
To change the current state of things means to buck the trend. So instead of saying buck the trend, you can try “change the status quo.”
These Examples will help you:
- The youths are ready to change the status quo of the Educational curriculum.
- The new manager plans to change the status quo of the company’s financial plan.
- There should be a recommended plan to change the status quo for the new government.
- The next administration must be ready to change the status quo on taxation.
- I pledge to change the status quo once I’m elected president of this association.
16. Bend the rule
When people buck the trend, they do something which is not usually allowed. So instead of saying, “buck the trend,” consider “bend the rule.”
For Example:
- Lloyd’s hobby is bending the rules in a formal setting.
- I love to bend the rules in my relationship.
- I am a man of principle; I don’t bend the rules at work.
- The president hardly bends the rules when he is fixed.
- You must bend the rule to accommodate me, or I will report you to the authority.
17. Against the law
You can also use “against the law” as a replacement for “buck the trend.” In this context, the trend represents the concept of law.
For Example:
- Brian is good at going against the law; he is the man for the job.
- It’s against the law to sing off-key.
- She refused the offer saying it was against the law.
- It is difficult to find a supplier; they are all afraid to go against the law.
- It’s declared on your way not to step in if you’re against the law.
18. Challenge the culture
“Challenge the culture” means providing alternative ideas that challenge the existing procedures for improvement. It underlines the core meaning of “buck the trend.”
These Examples can guide you:
- Tomorrow’s outfit should be a challenge to the culture.
- Challenging the culture is what I do best.
Challenge [present], challenge(ing) [continuous tense].
- Six celebrities sought to challenge the culture all of a sudden.
- We need to challenge the culture of solving equations with a formula.
- We planned a protest to challenge the culture of our jobs.
19. Up against the practice
Another way to say “buck the trend” is “up against the practice.”
This means the person contradicts the actual performance or application long in use.
For Example:
- Her behavior has been constantly up against the practice since her first year in high school.
- You are up against the practice for coming late to work every day.
- Simon is ready to go up against the practice to get married to Joy.
- The clerk was up against the company’s practice, so he left.
- Night shift is up against the practice of my faith.
20. Outside the law
When you’re referring to unacceptable actions, not subjected to the law or principles of your immediate environment or general, you can replace “buck the trend” with “outside the law.”
Look at these Examples:
- We have been operating outside the law for a while.
- I never thought I would do something outside the law during my first year in high school.
- Stealing is way outside the law in the United States.
- His mother works hard; she goes outside the law to feed him despite the hardship.
Wrapping up
Bucking the trend means deviating from the norm, simply ignoring the usual way of life, culture, society, and movement.
Whenever you find yourself stuck on words to use instead of this phrase, you can try any of the synonyms mentioned in the above article.
The good part is that they work for our everyday conversation, depending on the context of communication.